Thinking about buying Ammonia detector

[Noviceafter2yea]

Ammonia readings this morning

This is my ammonia reading from this morning. It is about .25. My detector has me in safe.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

N2 reading

This is my ammonia reading from this morning. It is about .25. My detector has me in safe.

This is my N2 reading from this morning. I honestly can't tell what the reading is. I think I have a problem with the different shades of purple. I just know it shouldn't be purple.

 

[Plantaholic]

Looking good Novice'! The seeded media at this point won't do much, as your cycle is progressing based on your recent results. I had trouble discerning the nitrite test as well, but if it goes purple another water change is in order, I'm sure your loving them....! I would gauge the size of water change by how purple the test gets(25% for lighter shades, 50% as it got darker). As you start testing for nitrates, be sure and shake the 2nd bottle vigorously before using. I would hold it in one hand and knock it against the palm of your other hand while shaking. For some reason it needs a bit more effort than the other test!

 

[Plantaholic]

Hey Novice', wanted to check how things were going with your tank?


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[Noviceafter2yea]

Hey Novice', wanted to check how things were going with your tank?


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Thanks for following up! As far as water parameters go in my main tank, pretty stabilized. I wouldn't say perfect, but way better than before. Actually, I should test again today. I've fed them peas the last two nights and there has been some serious poop. White and fluffy and long. I try to siphon some up with a turkey baster of all things. Right now I am Pima fixing the main tank because a there was a questionable white area on one of my platies, but I think it was a nip from the guppy that is all up in his world. The filter pad has dried out so I will dip in in the next water change old water.

The ammonia detector saved me. It is totally in the safe zone which provides me with a lot of peace of mind.

Now I have another platy in my QT tank. She has these two white things on her tail. Probably ich, but it is only those two flecks. I added salt to the main tank and turned up the heat a bit and monitored over night. That day I did a water test on my QT tank, and, not good. I did a 75% water change and retested a few hours later and it was much better. The next morning, retested QT tank and still improved reading. The two flecks didn't disappear, so I moved her to the QT tank and started treating with rid ich, twice a day, but dividing the dose in half as instructed on bottle. I did this because I don't know if this is a genetically strong fish. I do have gravel in that tank. I do a partial water change before each treatment and turkey baste the gravel. The temp is 81 Fahrenheit and I add salt. It is a 5 gallon tank.

Anywho, there does not seem to be any improvement. I should post on unhealthy fish. I probably will.

Thanks so much for following up, really thoughtful of you!

 

[Plantaholic]

Oh no! If it's not 1 thing it's another... Hopefully the Platy will be healed soon enough in your QT tank with the meds, and it will be smooth sailing from there! I'm not very knowledgable in disease diagnosis and treatment but I know there are many on here that are. Maybe the thread in the unhealthy category could help, glad to hear your numbers are looking better, and hope you get everyone happy and healthy soon!


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[Noviceafter2yea]

Oh no! If it's not 1 thing it's another... Hopefully the Platy will be healed soon enough in your QT tank with the meds, and it will be smooth sailing from there! I'm not very knowledgable in disease diagnosis and treatment but I know there are many on here that are. Maybe the thread in the unhealthy category could help, glad to hear your numbers are looking better, and hope you get everyone happy and healthy soon!


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I know, it it isn't one thing, then another! I did post about the sick fish a little bit ago.

One suggestion is to stop with the ich meds and the salt and just raise the temp. Scary.

Anyway, hope all your aquatics are,in good shape!

 

[Delapool]

I know, it it isn't one thing, then another! I did post about the sick fish a little bit ago.



One suggestion is to stop with the ich meds and the salt and just raise the temp. Scary.



Anyway, hope all your aquatics are,in good shape!

For ich that should work. You just need to get the temp up to 86 and leave it there for 10 days after last white spot seen. It generally can't survive / reproduce at that temp. Salt is a good tonic to help if you don't have plants (otherwise the salt level needed to kill off ich is too much for the plants).

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

For ich that should work. You just need to get the temp up to 86 and leave it there for 10 days after last white spot seen. It generally can't survive / reproduce at that temp. Salt is a good tonic to help if you don't have plants (otherwise the salt level needed to kill off ich is too much for the plants).

All my plants are fake. I will gradually increase the temp to 86 and add a little salt. Should I take the gravel out or just keep turkey baster vacuuming?.

 

[Delapool]

All my plants are fake. I will gradually increase the temp to 86 and add a little salt. Should I take the gravel out or just keep turkey baster vacuuming?.

The link below has some good info on the heat treatment method. I've never bothered taking out the gravel but have increased gravel vacs. Increase aeration if you can as the water will have less O2 at higher temp. I've found that the ich will look worse before it gets better (as heat speeds their cycle up) and it can take a week to get rid of the last spot. This might of been due to cold spots in my tank.

If the fish struggle with the heat, I've also used meds and mainly found that fine as well. Meds may knock your bacteria population down where as they will be fine with a little salt and increased heat.

http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_ich2.php

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

Are u serious?? 35$ almost gets me a Api Master Test Kit!!! How much are those for you???

My test kit was $25 US with Amazon Prime and free delivery.

 

[Pylor]

This is a slightly older thread and has kind of moved on, but I wanted to clear some things up that I'm fairly sure of (though a true chemist would know better). The seachem alert claims to read straight ammonia, whereas the API test measures ammonia AND its conjugate acid, ammonium. The primary factor in Ammonium/Ammonia proportions is due to pH, the higher your pH (basic), the more is ammonia (base), and the lower (acidic), the more is ammonium (conjugate acid).

I use the seachem alert but I also do tests with the API test kit too. Just keep in mind when you're using either that the higher the pH, the more actual ammonia there is, so if you're relying on the seachem alert you could have problems if you have a pH swing. It's also why the seachem alerts don't work well below a certain pH.

Also, they're like $8 on amazon. I don't mind supporting a local fish store, but when they mark something like that up so much it gets ridiculous. It's the same thing with HOB filter replacement cartridges, $12 for 2 at petsmart, $8 for 4 on amazon. Prime pays for itself fast.

 

[Caliban07]

This is a slightly older thread and has kind of moved on, but I wanted to clear some things up that I'm fairly sure of (though a true chemist would know better). The seachem alert claims to read straight ammonia, whereas the API test measures ammonia AND its conjugate acid, ammonium. Ammonium is a weak acid and much less toxic for fish. The primary factor in Ammonium/Ammonia proportions is due to pH, the higher your pH, the more is ammonia, and the lower, the more is ammonium.



I use the seachem alert but I also do tests with the API test kit too. Just keep in mind when you're using either that the higher the pH, the more actual ammonia there is, so if you're relying on the seachem alert you could have problems if you have a pH swing. It's also why the seachem alerts don't work well below a certain pH.



Also, they're like $8 on amazon. I don't mind supporting a local fish store, but when they mark something like that up so much it gets ridiculous. It's the same thing with HOB filter replacement cartridges, $12 for 2 at petsmart, $8 for 4 on amazon. Prime pays for itself fast.

Don't even go there. I just spent £17.50 on a bottle of tetra aquasafe 500ml from my LFS. It's £9.99 on amazon. Why don't they at least pretend to be competitive? At say £13 I would be prepared to pay the extra to save the wait.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

This is a slightly older thread and has kind of moved on, but I wanted to clear some things up that I'm fairly sure of (though a true chemist would know better). The seachem alert claims to read straight ammonia, whereas the API test measures ammonia AND its conjugate acid, ammonium. The primary factor in Ammonium/Ammonia proportions is due to pH, the higher your pH (basic), the more is ammonia (base), and the lower (acidic), the more is ammonium (conjugate acid).

I use the seachem alert but I also do tests with the API test kit too. Just keep in mind when you're using either that the higher the pH, the more actual ammonia there is, so if you're relying on the seachem alert you could have problems if you have a pH swing. It's also why the seachem alerts don't work well below a certain pH.

Also, they're like $8 on amazon. I don't mind supporting a local fish store, but when they mark something like that up so much it gets ridiculous. It's the same thing with HOB filter replacement cartridges, $12 for 2 at petsmart, $8 for 4 on amazon. Prime pays for itself fast.

I use both the liquid test and the alert. I know it is not an exact science, but if anything, it gives me peace of mind. I get caught up in numbers so this allows me to relax. If it were majorly off, I'd catch it in my regular water tests and/or see a change in behavior. I am glad I got it ... I didn't realize how expensive it would be to maintain a freshwater tank. I'm okay using Amazon.